North London Banksy mural withdrawn from auction in US

A mural painted by the graffiti artist known as Banksy has been pulled from an auction in Miami, after it disappeared from a wall in Wood Green

Slave Labour was taken from a wall last week, although no theft was reported (Haringey Council)

A BANKSY street mural that sparked an FBI probe after it was removed from a
London wall has been withdrawn from auction at the 11th hour.

Slave Labour, which shows a young boy hunched over a sewing machine making
Union Jack bunting, appeared on a wall in Wood Green, north London, last May
in the run-up to diamond jubilee celebrations.

But it disappeared from the side of the Poundland store last weekend, sparking
an international criminal investigation involving the FBI, and was due to
have been auctioned in Miami last night, where it was expected to have
fetched more than £250,000.

A spokesman for auction house Fine Art Auctions Miami (FAAM) confirmed Slave
Labour and Wet Dog, a second Banksy work, were pulled from the sale shortly
before the auction began. No reason was given for the withdrawal.